Time's Destruction
by Tori the Hanyou
Summary: YYHInuYGO crossover! A group of friends, once so happy when they were young, were separated by the Tides of Time, the horrid curse that haunts us all. When they meet again, will it be a happy reunion, or will destruction commence?
1. Before It Began

Tori the Hanyou: WELCOME ALL! I would like to present to you...my newest ficcie! Yet another three-way crossover of YuGiOh, Yu Yu Hakusho, and Inuyasha!!! I had support from two different friends for this idea, so they've got two OC's that will be joining the crew! Yay! I'm sure you guys will be able to pick them out, so....READ!  
  
DISCLAIMER: I'll only say this once...whew...I do NOT own YuGiOh, Yu Yu Hakusho, Inuyasha, OR the two OC's that will be featured! The OC's are the sole property of Blue Eyes White Knight, and Kira the Hanyou!   
  
Time's Destruction

Chapter 1: Before It Began

"MISS HINA!! HIEI DID IT AGAIN!!!" yelled the small voice of a young six-year-old girl as she raced into the kitchen to hide behind the legs of two older women. The conversation was briefly interrupted by a few small chuckles.

Along with the two older females was an elderly man with gray, spiky hair and pale amethyst eyes. The woman that the little girl had chosen to hide behind was a true beauty, with long, sea green hair that flowed down from her shoulders and kind eyes that watched the distressed child with amusement. She gently laughed at her antics as she heard two more pairs of feet come running down the stairs.

A little girl so much resembling the aquamarine-haired woman came giggling through the doorway, her red eyes full of laughter.

But soon, a tiny black bullet came zipping into the kitchen. As he tried to slide to a stop, the young boy slipped on his socked feet and went flying into the old man's legs. The boy grasped a small sword in his right hand.

"Now, kids!" sounded the voice of the other woman, a tall lady with black hair pulled back into a bun and gentle, brown eyes, "can you please just tell us what happened? And no, Tori, I won't hear a word until you've caught your breath!"

The first little girl was panting hard, her brown eyes almost in tears from the cramps in her sides from running. Her dirty blonde hair was in a now messed-up ponytail from her obvious flight from the boy with the sword.

"I'll tell you, Mrs. Higurashi!" squeaked the other girl. The black-haired woman turned to greet the red-eyed girl.

"Yes, Yukina?"

"Me and Tori were..."

"Tori and I, Yukina," corrected her mother, the other lady, named Hina.

"Yes, Mommy, Tori and I...were playing jump rope with Kagome, when Hiei came up and hit Tori on the head with his sword. She dropped the other end of the rope to hit him back, which made him chase her. I followed them in here by taking a shortcut through the back door," explained Yukina, giggling the whole time.

The young seven-year-old boy finally got his footing on the kitchen tile, standing up and glaring at Tori, who stuck her tongue out at him. His black spiky hair with the white starburst stood on end, his red eyes narrowed pretty fiercely for someone his age.

Obviously angry for the recent taunting he'd received, the boy tried to charge towards the girl, only to slip and fall again, earning him laughter from the other five people in the room, especially the girl he'd been chasing. The old man helped stand him back up.

"Goodness, Hiei, must you be so violent?" he asked, a smile evident on his face. The boy glared, but remained silent.

"Hold him for a moment, Mr. Moto," said Hina, standing up from her seat to walk over to her son. She seemed to glide across the floor. Tori, now seeing her shield walk away, darted behind Mrs. Higurashi instead, amidst giggles.

The woman knelt down to look into the young crimson orbs. "Hiei? Hiei, look at me." The boy obliged, but not too happily. "Did you hit Tori on the head with your sword?" He nodded, his eyes on the floor guiltily.

Suddenly, pandemonium ensued as five more boys came flying in the back door, skidding and slipping on the floor the same way Hiei had.

"Goodness! It's a mad house in here!!" said Mrs. Higurashi as she and Mr. Moto went to help the dog piled boys up. Two young girls peeked shyly in the door after they were sure the boys had gone, and stepped carefully inside. "Kagome? Is that you?" called Mrs. Higurashi from the next room as she attempted to sort out the tangled limbs.

"Yes, Mommy!" answered the young girl with black hair and big, brown eyes.

"Come here and help me, will you?"

Kagome nervously smiled at Tori and Yukina as she hurried into the other room, leaving the other young girl standing awkwardly in the kitchen. Her blue eyes looked about inquisitively, her small, black, silver-dipped cat ears twitching nervously on her head. Her black and silver hair was also a bit of a mess, as she twiddled her tiny claws together.

"Hello, Kira," said Hina, "Having fun?"

"Umm, yes ma'am," said Kira shyly. Her eyes darted about the room for a minute, soon getting the hint she was supposed to leave. She zipped out after Kagome, leaving Tori, Hiei, and Hina in the kitchen.

"Now, Hiei," said Hina calmly, once the pandemonium had moved to the next room, "I want you to apologize to...Tori, please come out of that cupboard," her gentle voice moved the young girl from the cabinet under the sink, where she'd gone when Mrs. Higurashi left the room. "Hiei, say sorry to Tori," she said, gently luring the girl over with an unknown force. Hiei put his head back down to the floor, muttering,

"Sorry..."

"Now Tori, apologize to Hiei."

"B-but, Miss Hina, he started it!" Tori accidentally blurted. The woman's eyes smiled at her, and Tori glared at the ignorant Hiei before mumbling an answer, "Sorry."

Hina smiled.

"Well, that settles that problem! Now, why don't you two go play with your friends?"

She gently took both of them and led them into the living room, where five boys were sitting, pulling off their socks.

Two of them made the first comment.

"HAHA! Hiei got in trouble! Hiei got in trouble!" they chanted. They were both rather small boys, one had messy black hair with brown eyes, the other's orange hair was in the same style, except he had tiny black eyes.

"Yusuke and Kazuma, that's really not necessary!" said Mrs. Higurashi. But she was never heard, for those two boys had suddenly gotten attacked by Hiei.

Hina didn't know what happened next, for suddenly another body had joined the fight, snarling tiny animal sounds.

Angrily, Yusuke and Kazuma turned on the newcomer, but it fled from the room pretty darn fast, with the other two boys chasing it. Hiei jumped to his feet and raced after them.

Hina looked around, smiling as Mrs. Higurashi voiced her thoughts.

"Where's Tori?"

Kagome, Kira and Yukina hurried outside, with the other three boys following them.

"Mommy! She's right there!" said Yukina, pulling on her mother's skirt.

Indeed, Tori was racing around the yard with about the same speed you'd normally expect from Yusuke on a bad day. Her tiny snarls sounded across the way as she back flipped to avoid a tackle from Kazuma.

"Whoa! Grandpa! Grandpa! Didja see what Tori did??" asked another young boy. His hair was black, blonde and red spiked up in a strange hairstyle, and his big, purple eyes watched the fight.

"Yes, Yugi, I can see very well," said Mr. Moto.

Nobody knew what drove him to it, but a suddenly angry Hiei shot off towards the fight, finishing what Kazuma had left off, and tackling Tori smack into the ground.

Twitching her ears in excitement, Kira saw a new game to play, and hurried off after them, quickly followed by the other boys. Kagome and Yukina hung back, a bit scared to get in the middle of one of those fights.

The adults watched them, pride emitting from their hearts.

Amidst the fighting, another boy laughed happily as he tackled Yugi and romped with him in the dirt of the Higurashi shrine. This boy had blonde, spiky hair and bright blue eyes. He was called Kevin.

Tori fought hard to keep from staying underneath the fierce boy, but she soon found her strength faltering. He soon had flipped her onto her back, and pinned her there, both panting hard.

Then, Tori let it out, a giggle, a playful giggle. Hiei's anger vanished instantly from his young eyes, and he cocked his head at her new action.

"That was fun!" she squeaked happily. He stared at her. Fun? That was...fun? He'd thought she was serious about fighting. Curiously, he got off of her and let her up; her giggles still sounding throughout all the noise of the playing around them. She smiled at him, and jumped up, racing out of the way of the dog pile named Yugi, Kevin, and Kira. She disappeared around the side of the house, and before Hiei knew what he was doing, he followed her.

The last boy was playing with Yusuke and Kazuma, keeping them entertained as they tried to catch him, his water-like movements easily helping him dodge them. He had red hair, and deep, green eyes.

"Gosh, hold still Shuiichi! You're making my head hurt!" complained Yusuke as he tried unsuccessfully to catch the boy.

Somehow, neither was sure how they did it, but they managed to pin the redhead down. Shuiichi struggled fruitlessly against them, for both of them were heavy.

But, I'm pretty sure he would've never gotten out had it not been for a certain girl who decided to join the fun.

"Get offa him!" yelled Kagome as she shoved the other two boys off angrily, standing near Shuiichi and glaring at them. Yusuke and Kuwabara were shocked to their toes, as well as Shuiichi. He stood up, dusting himself off and thanking Kagome, causing her to blush.

"You're very welcome, Shuiichi," she said quietly. Both of them ganged up on the poor duo, while certain other events were occurring elsewhere.

Tori sat down against the wall of the house, panting, her skinny little legs aching from the exercise she'd just given them. 'Boy, that big kitty sure helped me out a lot,' she thought to herself, remembering the strange dream she'd had. She'd been playing in her room with Kira, when Kira suddenly said she was going downstairs for some water, and raced out. Tori played with the blocks by herself, stacking them carefully, when she heard a growl behind her.

She spun around, seeing an enormous creature, about five times bigger than her, standing over her, the yellow eyes piercing into her own.

Naturally, being six, Tori wasn't afraid.

"Hi, kitty!" she said, standing up. The creature continued to stare at her, when it suddenly took a step towards her. Smiling, Tori figured it wanted her to pet it, so she ran up to it, happily throwing her arms around its neck, petting the thick, soft fur. "You're pretty," she said in awe. The animal, a giant white lioness-looking creature with black stripes, stepped back from her embrace, watching her.

"I am here to guard and protect you, and bestow upon you my strength, for someday, you will be required to do many things," it suddenly said. Tori's eyes widened.

"Woooow, you can talk?"

The animal never answered. It simply lay down next to her in the room, and watched her play.

When Tori had woken the next morning, she could still feel the animal in her mind. A while later, it revealed to her that it was called a ligress, and spoke no more.

Later on, Tori soon forgot the ligress could talk, and instead played with it in her mind all the time.

As the young girl ran this memory over in her head, remembering how the ligress had now taken over about half of her mind, she suddenly heard extremely fast footsteps, and jumped up, giggling like crazy, as a laughing Hiei raced into where she'd just been.

"Hi, Hiei!" she called from a ways away. Her leap had carried her quite far from her spot. He smiled and raced after her, both of them playing happily and laughing until the sun set.

Kira bounced around throughout the group, happily pouncing on anyone she could, making sure to knock them off their feet so she could get out of the way. She laughed happily, her eyes filling with the child instincts of joy as she landed on the ground, only to finally get knocked flat by Kagome.

Kevin joined in on every romp he could with the boys, particularly when Yusuke, Kazuma, Shuiichi and Yugi got together. All of them had contests to see who could stay on top of the dog pile the longest. Since Yugi was the smallest he easily won those, but Kevin came in second not too far behind.

The kids continued to play until the last rays of the sun had faded.

"Kids! Time to come in!" called Mrs. Higurashi.

In a short while, eight kids came into the house, exhausted. They headed into the living room and plopped on the floor, not wanting to stand up again. Tori was so tired that she didn't even care she'd landed on top of Hiei. He didn't seem to mind, either. Kira and Kagome were spread-eagled on the floor, while the other boys just dropped dead. Yukina came and sat with the girls, giggling at their funny positions.

Mr. Moto came into the room, smiling at the funny scene. He went to get Mrs. Higurashi, who pulled out her digital camera and took a picture of all the friends happily resting together on the floor. Mr. Moto clapped his hands.

"Ok, Yugi! I think we need to take Kevin home, and then it's bedtime for you!" Yugi and Kevin groaned.

"Why can't we just stay here, Grandpa?" asked the poor, tired little Yugi.

"Because both of you are filthy and you need a bath. Come on now, your father won't be happy if you're home late, Kevin!" said Mr. Moto, picking both boys up by the backs of their shirt collars. "Say goodbye to your friends!"

"Bye," came two voices in unison as they were dragged out the door to Mr. Moto's car.

Hina came in the room as well, quickly followed

"I think it's about time I took you home, too," she started.

Groans and no's came from all the boys, but she silenced them with a look. "I'll give you five minutes to say goodbye, but then we're leaving, ok?"

"Yes, ma'am," sounded six voices. As Hina left, Yukina crawled over to where Tori and Hiei were half-asleep.

"Hiei? Did you hear Mommy?"

"Yeah, I heard her, don't worry," moaned the little boy, raising his head slightly to see his sister's face. He looked back at Tori, who was draped on his back.

Yukina leaned in to whisper in Tori's ear, knowing that would get her up.

"Hey, Tori, I think my brother might have a crush on you," she said, giggling uncontrollably as Tori leapt up like a frightened cat, screeching,

"EEEEEWWWW!!"

Poor Hiei covered his ears, rolling out of the way and sitting up. Yusuke and Kazuma sat up sleepily, blinking their eyes. Kagome had curled up next to Shuiichi absentmindedly, and both of them let out tiny yawns.

Hina came back in, nudging all the boys up and taking them out the door.

"Boys, say goodbye," she said softly, and they turned to smile at the three girls.

"Goodbye," came the four voices, and as Tori and Kagome watched Hiei and Shuiichi walk out that door, they'd never have guessed that that would be the last they ever saw of them...for a very...long...time.

Tori the Hanyou: Boy, can I write cliffies or what? Lol, now, all y'all have to do is wait for the next chappie! It'll be up soon, me promise! This chapter will take place nine years in the future, okies? So y'all will get to ponder what on earth will happen to them! YAY! Don't you just LOVE doing that?? Now, I'd once more like to thank Blue Eyes White Knight for helping me with some of the main ideas for this story, as well as giving me an OC to play with, and Kira the Hanyou for contributing an OC. She also helped with a few ideas, as well. So, y'all wait for the next chappie!

Peace, Love, and Spirit Fingers!

-Tori the Hanyou-


	2. Nine Years Later

Tori the Hanyou: CHAPPIE 2!!!! WOOPEE!!! I can't wait! This story has been in the works for quite a while, and I'm excited to see it finally in action! Okies, enough of my rambling, ON WITH THE FICCIE!  
  
Review Answers: I won't be doing many of these, so this is rare:  
  
Kanna Fan: Hey gurl! Yeah, long time since I did anything, but I've been planning this and the FB sequel. It's hard. Blue-Eyes White Knight has been helping me with this fic. To answer ur question, no, I don't like the Hiei/Kagome pairing, heh, just cause it's Hiei. You're ABSOLUTELY right; these will be the same pairings as Fighting Back! Hit the nail on the head! Good Job!

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Time's Destruction  
  
Chapter 2: Nine Years Later  
  
The alarm rang soundly on Kagome's bedside table, and she groaned as she reached over to slam it off. She opened her eyes wearily, sliding out of bed and dragging her feet to the bathroom to get ready.  
  
:Five minutes later:  
  
"IT'S THE LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!!!!!!" Kira's voice rang through the halls of the Higurashi residence, immediately waking all of those who hadn't been awake before.

A cat hanyou came racing out of her door, bolting down the hallways towards her friends' rooms. The first one she came upon happened to open up to reveal a VERY disgruntled, half-ligress figure. Her eyes glowed gold, her pointed ears visible in the darkness of her room, as well as her fangs that she showed as she snarled and the claws on the ends of her fingers. "HI TORI!!! HOW ARE-" She never finished, as Tori slammed her in the head with an angry hiss before slamming the door in her face. "Wow, she sure isn't a morning person," mumbled Kira.

She and Tori had been living with Kagome since both of their families had been murdered/killed when they were very young, too young to remember it. Mrs. Higurashi had invited them over every day before the killings to play with Kagome, and when she heard about it, quickly adopted both of them before the orphanage got their hands on them.

They were now the other two older sisters to a very boisterous little boy, named Sota, who came out of his room cheering with Kira.

"IT'S THE LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!!!!!!"

Once both had gotten ready, after a few repeated beatings from Kagome and Tori, the four of them headed out to drop Sota off at elementary school. Tori had become normal again, her gold eyes turning back to brown, her white tiger-striped tail vanishing, and so forth.

Once that was over with, the trio now headed to their last day of ninth grade.

They walked happily in the door to greet their friends, Mai, Serenity, and Tea. The six girls were known well around the school, in the sense that if you messed with one of them, you had the other five to deal with.

The girls walked down towards their locker area, chatting away happily about their summer plans. Mai was going on a special cruise that she'd won off a radio show. The others didn't really have any plans for that summer.

"Hey, where's that cousin of yours, Mai?" asked Serenity.

"Oh, he's where he always is. Kevin! Get your butt out here!" called Mai, and Kevin came out from behind some beat up lockers, his favorite spot. It hid him from certain others he'd rather not talk about. His blonde, spiked hair had a bit of dust on it, and he blinked his blue eyes as they nervously darted around.

"Gah, Mai! Can you keep the volume down?? I'm trying to avoid..."

"Hey, Mouse," came a cold voice from behind them, and the girls spun to see none other than Seto Kaiba, a tall boy with too-well-groomed hair, cold, blue eyes, a huge silver coat, and an ego to match.

"Kaiba?" asked Mai, putting a foot in front of Kevin, "what might it be that you want from my little cousin?"

"He owes me for embarrassing me yesterday," snarled Kaiba, glaring at the smaller boy. Kevin didn't flinch.

"I wouldn't think he owes you anything," said Serenity.

"Yeah, I'd say he did you a favor! He certainly got you more publicity, not that you needed it," said Kagome, and the girls snickered.

Kaiba glared.

"That little runt not only scuffed up my shoes, but he made me late to an important appointment!" he snarled. Mai was unfazed.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear about your poor shoes! Are they ok?" she asked, smirking. His eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Listen, I'd watch what I do around me, because you never know when something's going to come back and bite you right in your cocky little ass!" he said in a low tone. Mai's smirk faltered ever so slightly.

"And if I were you, I wouldn't be making Mai angry," said Tori, giving Kaiba a warning tone. He didn't pay her any mind, only turning and walking off.

Kevin peered out from behind his cousin.

"Mai?"

"What?"

The boy's head fell a bit.

"Sorry you had to get caught up in all this," he muttered. Mai turned to face him sharply.

"Don't be sorry about anything!" Her smirk came back, full force, "I love kicking that guy's butt verbally!"

"But you didn't do that today, Mai," said Serenity, making Mai sweat drop.

"Well, maybe not today, but I most certainly have done it other times, and will in the future!" she said happily, "Now let's get to class!" She marched off through the hallways, half dragging Kevin behind her.

"Wow, I don't think I've ever seen Mai actually eager to get through school," said Tea. The other girls nodded in response as they followed them through the building.

Upon reaching the classroom, they took a seat near the rest of their friends. A boy with messy blonde hair and big brown eyes was playing Duel Monsters against another guy with black hair put up in a ponytail with a red band around his head. His green eyes watched the cards in front of him thoughtfully as he played with the die hanging from his left ear.

"Ok Joey, I sacrifice my Mystical Elf to bring out Summoned Skull, and I attack your Baby Dragon. You lose!"

"Aww, come on, Duke! I didn't even get to use Time Wizard!" moaned Joey, the blonde. Duke stood up, gathering his cards.

"Nice duel, guys," said none other than Yugi. He hadn't grown much since his childhood days, only about a foot. The same thing occurred with Kevin.

"Poor Joey. Look on the bright side, you can still beat me, Kagome, Serenity, and Tristan!" said Tori, pointing out another of the boys in the group. He was very tall, with hazel eyes and brown hair styled to make a point in the front. Tea walked up to him, resting her head on his shoulder, her blue eyes half-closed as she yawned.

"I can't wait for today to end. I'm SO sleeping all summer as soon as I get home," she muttered.

"Ok then, Sleeping Beauty, I'll be the one to come and wake you up," said Tristan, smirking as he kissed her on the forehead. She smiled softly. Kevin felt his face burning with jealousy, but he quickly caught himself. He'd had a crush on Tea for a while, and it hurt to see her so happy with Tristan, but he couldn't help it.

"Oh, get a room!" laughed Joey as he saw them in that intimate position. Mai rolled her eyes and swatted him upside the head.

Kira sat down at her desk, watching thoughtfully out the window as the last boy of the group came and sat next to her.

"Kira? Are you feeling all right?" he asked in a hushed, quiet voice. Kira snapped out of her thoughts and turned to him, nodding slowly.

"Yeah, I'm fine, thanks Bakura. I'm just like Tea, tired. School has really worn me out this year." She yawned, displaying her fangs. The boy's white hair seemed to glisten in the morning light streaming through the windows, and his brown eyes sparkled with kindness as he watched her. She could never know the secret thoughts running through his head...

Tori was already asleep in her desk, her breathing light and quiet. Yugi came up behind her and ruffled her hair playfully, startling her.

"Don't go to sleep yet," he said, laughing. She yawned, before resuming a thoughtful state. A dream had flickered through her head while she was resting, a boy with glowing red eyes, standing tall and proud, his short sword flashing. He faded away as a large clock was displayed behind him, ticking, ticking, ticking...

"Tori?"

"What??" she asked, jumping.

"I was gonna ask you what you were thinking," said Yugi. Tori smiled at her childhood friend. He knew her too well. Joey and Tristan had met them a couple of years ago, while Bakura had joined their school only last year. Yugi had been her friend since she could remember.

"You remember our old friends, Yugi?" she asked quietly, trying not to get attention. He frowned, leaning towards her.

"Which ones?"

"Yusuke, Kazuma, Shuiichi...Hiei..." she said, her voice softly trailing off as the picture flashed through her mind again. Yugi closed his eyes, sighing.

"Yeah, I do. I miss them," he said, sitting up. Tori smiled.

"Me too. You remember how many tussles we got into with them? Yusuke would always start something with his mouth, Kazuma would follow up with a flying fist, and then it'd begin," Tori chuckled slightly at the thought, "I wonder where they are now...ever since they disappeared... I've really missed them." Yugi remembered it, all too clearly. He looked down, touching his Puzzle. That was years before he met Yami.

Kira listened in on their conversation. Bakura sat quietly next to her, not saying a word. Kagome was eavesdropping, too. The odd thing was, she'd been missing Shuiichi a whole lot recently... and Tori had been missing Hiei. What DID happen that day, so many years ago? All of them had vanished without a trace. Not even a goodbye was left. They hadn't said where they were going, or how to reach them. Even Hina and Yukina had vanished, right along with the boys. Mrs. Higurashi thought it strange, as well. But, she'd reasoned, strange things happen all the time, especially when you're living with such strange people.

The girls had rolled their eyes at that comment.

The truth was, NO one knew what happened. Their houses were cleaned out; none of the neighbors could say anything. They thought it just as strange as the others, because just one morning they'd vanished, like they'd never even existed. Kagome remembered this day, and a small tear formed in her eye. She'd often cried over Shuiichi's disappearance. Amazingly enough, throughout her whole life, she'd never had her thoughts turned on any other boy but him. It was like, from when they were young, Shuiichi had left some kind of mental claim on her, a promise that he'd never leave her.

The tear spilled.

:::After school:::

The large group headed off away from the school grounds, heading for their houses. They took the same route each day, going past everyone's homes to drop them off, for safety in numbers. The city was dangerous if taken too lightly.

They dropped off Bakura and Duke at their block first before heading towards Tristan's. Tori and Kagome were silent, as Kira, Serenity, Mai and Tea chatted happily.

"Yeah, but he was really hot! I hope he's coming to school next year..." came Mai's voice rather loudly, and Kagome swore she heard Joey snarling under his breath. She had never cared too much for boys, but that didn't mean she'd never been asked out on a date. On the contrary, it was the opposite. She'd been asked out loads of times, but had to turn each one down politely. She didn't know what unseen force was keeping her feelings inside her, not allowing her to crush on other guys, but she somehow enjoyed it, not having to worry about looking her best to show off for the other boys at school.

Tori felt the same way. She couldn't explain it any better than Kagome, but something weird was holding her heart inside her. She never even crushed on a SINGLE guy all through middle school and freshman year!

Soon, Tristan, Mai, Serenity and Tea had been dropped off, and it was only Yugi, Kevin, Tori, Kira, and Kagome. They walked in silence, being naturally quiet people.

Tori sighed to herself, finally raising her head. They were about to pass her favorite shop, the video game store. She smiled, all perkiness returning, as she raced ahead of the group to reach it and look in the window.

WHAM!!!

"OWW!" Tori yelped as she slammed straight into someone who'd been coming out of the side alley near the store.

"Hey, ya mind watching where you're going??" snapped an annoyed voice.

"Well excuse me if I happened to be in a hurry! What's YOUR problem???" snarled Tori, straightening herself, getting up in the guy's face, which he didn't hesitate to copy.

Angry brown eyes glared right into her own, and a memory was brought up, flashing through Tori's mind in a split second.

'Nuh uh! I'M the better car racer!' 'No, me!' 'ME!' 'ME!'

Tori's eyes faltered, and she took a step back, shaking her head. Why THAT memory now? That voice belonging to the other guy...it sounded...just like...

Her eyes widened as she turned to stare.

"N-no...it can't be..." she stammered, as Kira and Kagome raced up.

"Watch where you're going, pal!" snapped Kira angrily, her ears flattening as she hissed at him.

This time the other set of brown eyes faltered as they stared between Kira and Tori like they'd just seen a ghost.

"Oh God...this can't be the city!!" he said suddenly, running a hand over his black, slicked back hair as he stared in amazement at the three girls, and then back at the three boys quickly approaching.

"Urameshi! What the hell are you doin' out there??" came a deep, yet raspy voice.

Kagome watched Tori worriedly.

"Tori, are you ok? You're pale as a ghost!" she said, panic starting to tinge the edges of her voice.

"K-Kagome...it's...I-it's...YUSUKE!!!!" shrieked Tori, running and pouncing on the surprised boy. Kagome's jaw dropped to the ground, as well as Kira's, and as Yugi, Joey and Kevin reached the scene, their eyes widened like saucers.

"Yusuke!! I thought I'd never see you again!!!" said Tori happily, releasing her old friend.

It wasn't long before Kagome and Kira had glomped him as well, with a few warm guy greetings from Yugi and Kevin.

"Wait...who the heck is this guy?" asked Joey, studying Yusuke suspiciously.

"Joey, this is Yusuke, my old friend from when I was like 7!" said Yugi. Yusuke looked at him with a smirk.

"And I see God wasn't kind enough to gift you with height," he cracked. Yugi laughed, as did Kevin, "Hey, he wasn't any nicer to you, pal," said Yusuke, looking at Kevin's compared height.

Joey still watched Yusuke with a suspicious tone, but it passed soon as two more figures stepped out of the shadows.

"Damn, Urameshi! How long does it take for you to check to see if the coast is...WHOA! Who the hell are those babes??" he said, freezing as he noticed Tori, Kagome and Kira.

Kagome recognized him quickly enough.

"God, Kazuma, who'd have thought it'd take more than looks to let you know it's your friends from way back when??" she giggled. Kazuma looked on, and his eyes widened.

"Oh my God, it IS you! Hey Kurama! Look who it is!!"

As he spoke, the last figure stepped from the shadows, his long red hair trailing just past his shoulders, his eyes closed. When he flashed them open for the first time, he was aiming them only at one person.

"Yes, Kuwabara, I can see them just fine," he said, speaking in a gentleman's tone. Kagome didn't fail to notice that his beautifully deep emerald eyes had remained fixed on her while he spoke the words, and the name barely dared to escape her lips.

"S-Shuiichi??????" She took a step forward, and the totally serious face broke into a soft smile.

"It's nice to see you all again..."

He never finished, for Kagome had run forward, all emotion in her heart that had been pinned up for nine years finally released as she threw her arms around his neck, her tears soaking into the shoulder of his jacket.

This little scene surprised a good amount of the other faces.

"Uhh, Kuwabara? Kurama? Urameshi?" asked Tori as she looked at them.

Yusuke smirked.

"Well, that's what we call each other now. I'm still Yusuke, but the guy we used to call Kazuma has changed his name to Kuwabara, and Shuiichi to Kurama, so just go by those names, and we'll be fine."

The group nodded, and Yugi and Kevin happily greeted the other two boys, once Kagome had gotten a hold of herself.

She couldn't help it, though. A sudden rush of emotion had burst through the long-dammed river in her heart when she saw Shuiichi, erm...Kurama. She didn't get the name change thing, but if it made him happy, she'd do it. But one thing she never understood was why it was THEN that her heart gave way...had it really been Kurama she'd had these feelings for all her life?

Tori watched happily as everyone introduced Joey to Yusuke, Kuwabara and Kurama, but she looked around in the alley behind them. No sign of him, odd. She'd thought for sure that he'd at least be there with them.

She walked up to Yusuke.

"Hey, umm, do y'all know if Hiei's with you?" she asked shyly. Knowing Yusuke, there was a perverted grin coming in somewhere...but apparently she didn't know Yusuke well enough. His face fell.

As did Kuwabara's and Kurama's.

"Well, umm..." started Kuwabara, but Kurama cut in, speaking to him.

"We might as well tell them, they might have seen him around."

"What?" asked Tori, now panicked. What were they saying? Wasn't he there???

"Well, Tori, it's quite hard to explain, but..."

"Hiei's disappeared," said Yusuke simply.

Tori fell silent. He wasn't there. He was gone again. The swells of hope that had flashed through her heart left, leaving her with an exceptionally empty feeling.

"That's actually why we're here," said Kurama, "We think he might be in this city."

Tori's face perked up.

"When did he disappear?" asked Kagome. She didn't even care about the intimate position she'd been drawn into accidentally, her head resting on Kurama's shoulder from behind. Hell, she'd missed him!

"A few months ago. Sadly enough, we already know why," answered Kurama.

"Why?" asked Tori, not caring she was kind of jumping the gun. Kurama turned to her, and Tori noticed the pain flicker through his eyes.

"Hiei's become a criminal."

Tori the Hanyou: MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I'm so evil I love myself! My first cliffie of the story! YAHOO! There are more to come, I promise, but for now, let us say good night, cuz I'm FRIGGIN TIRED! I need to sleep NOW! Nighty night!

CHAPTER TITLE PREVIEW: Kidnapped by a New Foe


	3. Kidnapped by a New Foe

Tori the Hanyou: Chapter 3 is here! Yay!

Time's Destruction

Chapter 3: Kidnapped by a New Foe

"Wh-WHAT??? HIEI? A CRIMINAL???" yelled Tori. She couldn't believe her ears! Here she'd been waiting for YEARS to see him again, and when she finally finds out anything at all about him, he's friggin turned EVIL!

Yusuke winced, covering his ears.

"Jeez, I forgot how loud you can yell," he muttered, "Yeah, Hiei's a criminal, and that's why we're looking for him. Our boss wants us to bring him in for questioning before he's sent to Spirit Jail."

Kagome, Tori, Kira, Joey, Yugi and Kevin sweat dropped.

"Huh???" came six voices. Kurama sighed, and Kuwabara whapped Yusuke over the head.

"Damnit, Urameshi, you weren't supposed to say THAT much!"

Tori snarled.

"Well he's already said enough to pique MY interest! Now explain!" She glared.

Kagome watched Tori worriedly. Tori never got this upset over anything...except in sixth grade when a boy had grabbed her butt...boy; she'd forgotten how vicious a fighter Tori had become...

So, Kurama proceeded to explain about their current jobs, working for Koenma as Spirit Detectives, not leaving out anything pertaining to Spirit World.

When he was finished, everyone excluding Yusuke and Kuwabara had their mouths dropped to the ground.

"Ok...but this doesn't explain why y'all disappeared," said Kira. She opened her mouth to speak again, but Kagome had it covered.

"YEAH! DO YOU REALIZE HOW WORRIED SICK WE WERE????" she screamed. Kurama winced, and Yusuke and Kuwabara stared at her like she'd grown three heads.

"Where the hell did YOU learn to yell like that?" asked Tori, shocked. Kurama recovered quickly, rubbing his sensitive ears.

"Well, what I was going to say was...that day when we supposedly 'disappeared', as you put it, we went to another city, upon request of Koenma, our boss, and the ruler of Spirit World. He wished for us to go into training so he could make use of our abilities when we grew older. That's where Hiei's negative behavior started. He didn't quite take to the idea of serving Koenma. Hina and Yukina tried to reason with him, and it worked, for a few years. Upon Hiei's turning fifteen, he started to turn rebellious once more, and this time, neither his sister nor his mother could talk sense into him. He left with the promise to come back and make Koenma and the rest of us pay for his years of 'slavery', as he put it."

Everyone was silent, and Tori felt tears brimming in her eyes. All these years...they'd been in training to help fight when they grew older...but that still left one thing unanswered.

"What kind of crimes has he committed so far?" she asked slowly. Kurama got a pained look.

"That's why Koenma wants him in Spirit Jail. In just a few short months, Hiei has developed quite a criminal record. His favorite crime appears to be murder. He always was good with a sword..."

These words hit Tori...hard. She'd never pictured it...Hiei...a killer??? The little boy she used to play with had become a cold-blooded murderer??? The tears spilt over, and she took a step back from Kurama...from all of them. No...he couldn't...

She felt her shoulders tremble violently as she cried for the first time in many years.

"How could you, Hiei?" she whispered, "HOW COULD YOU???" she screamed, making everyone jump. She stood, and took off down the street, her tears streaming behind her, not caring that her super speed was a bit more than obvious. She just wanted to get away, away from them. She needed to think.

"Oh no," started Kagome, and made a move to follow her, but Kurama laid a hand on her shoulder, gently holding her back.

"Let her be. There's nothing we can do right now," he said. Kagome watched her friend worriedly, hoping she was ok.

Kira felt horrible. Her ears drooped sadly as she watched Tori take off. She knew how close Tori and Hiei had been as children. She knew it was horrible to suddenly realize that one of your own friends had turned rotten, a friend you knew so well. She lowered her eyes to the ground and stared at it, wondering what she'd do in her friend's place. She hated seeing any of her friends in pain, and would do anything to take some of the load off. Her eyes closed.

"But why did he hate being a Spirit Detective?" asked Kevin, breaking the silence. Yusuke looked up.

"You would too if you had to endure the fucking torture WE did," he said, "I don't blame the guy for running off!"

"Actually, Yusuke," said Kurama, "It had nothing to do with the training. I know Hiei well enough to say that he enjoyed the training, knowing it was making him stronger; he was about the fastest improver of all of us. The real reason why he hated it was in his nature. Hiei is not a naturally obedient person. He hates to take orders, as you know, and the thought of living the rest of his life taking directions from someone really didn't bode well with him. I'm thinking the first time he spoke against it, he meant it, but he stifled it for his family's sake. The second time, he had hormones and training to fuel his anger, and therefore was able to go through with it."

"And you were gonna tell me this WHEN?" asked Yusuke, irritated.

"I figured you knew," said Kurama. Yusuke fell silent.

"Well, how strong would you say Hiei's gotten now?" asked Yugi.

"As you knew, Yugi, Hiei is a demon, like me. His specialty lies in swordsmanship and speed. Judging by that, I can say we are up against a powerful foe, though that's not exactly the right word to say..." replied Kurama.

"Yeah, just a menace," smarted Kuwabara, sniffing.

"What's your problem?" asked Kira, "You were his friend, too!"

"True, but Hiei and Kuwabara really got on each other's nerves over the years," said Yusuke, "They BOTH became a pain in the ass after a while."

They walked home after a bit, dropping off Yugi and Kevin before taking Kagome and Kira home. They stopped outside the Higurashi property, hesitating.

"Should we tell Mrs. Higurashi about this?" asked Kira. Kagome shook her head.

"It'd be too much at once. We'll wait until things settle down before reintroducing them to my mom," she said. Kurama, Yusuke and Kuwabara stood talking with them for a while longer.

"Well, I know I'D like to help you guys out," said Kira.

"Me too," agreed Kagome.

"It'll be dangerous," warned Kurama, almost playfully.

"Ha, ha! You should know, Kurama, that danger never has been an obstacle with us," said Kagome.

"Very well then. But you can't say we didn't warn you."

"Don't worry, we won't," said Kagome.

"Hey, you think we should go find Tori? It's getting dark," said Kira. Kurama looked down the street towards the path Tori had taken.

"I'm not sure. Maybe we should. The city IS a dangerous place at night," he said. They agreed, and headed off towards where Kagome said Tori would be.

Indeed, they were right. They came to the park, and found Tori in her favorite tree, dozing. Tears had dried on her cheeks; she'd apparently cried herself to sleep.

Kira hopped up lightly into the tree, poking Tori in the forehead.

"Hey, wakey wake up!" she said. Tori's eyes opened slowly, and she and Kira climbed down the tree and headed home with the others.

"So, where are you guys staying while looking for You-Know-Who?" asked Kagome, not wanting to say Hiei's name, for fear of upsetting Tori again.

"Spirit World, at the moment. We'll be back tomorrow, so you rest up, ok?" asked Kurama.

"Yeah! Sure!" said Kagome. Kira and Tori yawned and headed inside, and Yusuke and Kuwabara started walking down the street.

"Hey Kurama! You coming?" called Yusuke.

"You two go on ahead! I'll meet up with you in a minute!" answered Kurama. Kagome turned to go inside, but Kurama gently took her arm, turning her back towards him. "It's been too long," he said quietly, and Kagome's eyes softened.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. Nine years is a long time to not see someone," she said. Kurama smiled.

"I really missed you." Kagome felt a blush creep into her cheeks.

"Yeah, me too."

"It's funny, not a single other girl crossed my mind through those years but you," he whispered, and Kagome felt her eyes widen.

"Really? That was what happened to me too! Well, except, you know, no GUY crossed my mind but you," she said, blushing. He smiled softly, and Kagome felt her heart flutter in a way she hadn't known for many years.

And, before she could react, Kurama had bent his head down, pressing his lips lightly onto hers, and Kagome felt her heart skip a few beats.

As he pulled away, he whispered into her ear.

"I can't tell you how long I waited to do that." Kagome knew her face was red, but all she could do was stare into his eyes unbelievably. He'd KISSED her! The guy she'd been waiting for her whole life...had KISSED her! She felt her breathing rate go up a few notches. He softly smiled at her, and turned to leave.

"Kurama..." she started. He turned to look at her.

She ran up to him and lightly kissed him back. "It feels like forever since I last saw you, and I've been waiting, too," she said, smiling happily.

"Yes, Kagome, it HAS been forever, but the wait is over," said Kurama, "It hurts to say good bye so soon after we've met again, but I daresay you'll need a good rest if you want to help us tomorrow, so, good night." He kissed her on the forehead. Kagome felt like she was going to melt as she watched him walk off into the darkness.

"Good night, Shuiichi."

She walked back into the house, slowly ascending the steps to her room as the memory replayed over and over again. She dressed for bed silently, noticing the lack of noise down the hall that usually occurred when Tori and Sota were playing video games.

She went down the rooms, passing Kira's open door. Kira sat on her bed, listening to a CD player and reading a Teen People magazine while crunching on a big red apple. Kagome continued down, peering into Sota's room. He was playing Spiderman 2 on his X-Box, but Tori wasn't in there.

"Hey, Sota?" she asked. Sota cringed, quickly pausing the game as he turned to his sister.

"Make it snappy! I'm trying to save this guy from falling off a building!" he said.

"Did Tori come in here?" asked Kagome. Sota's annoyed look faded.

"No. It was kinda weird. I even went into her room to ask her if she wanted to play Unreal Championships with me, she loves that game, but she told me she was gonna be on the roof tonight and didn't feel like playing."

"Oh, I see. Well, ok then, you can go back to being Superman now..."

"It's SPIDER Man!"

"Whatever!"

Kagome turned towards Tori's room, the farthest down the hall. She came in and opened the door. The room was dark, and eerily quiet. She walked in and over to Tori's window, which was still open, the curtains blowing in the warm summer breeze.

She carefully clambered out onto the roof, crawling up to the flat part where Tori usually sat. "Tori? You out here?" called Kagome.

Amazingly enough, no answer sounded.

Worried, Kagome crawled up onto the rooftop, looking around. Tori definitely wasn't here.

She turned to leave, when something caught her eye. A small sparkle shimmered in the moonlight. Kagome picked it up, gasping. She scrambled down the roof and back into Tori's window as fast as she could, hurrying back to Sota's room. "Sota!" she called.

"WHAT NOW??" he yelled.

"Are you POSITIVE Tori said she'd be on the roof??"

"Yeah, why?"

"She's not there, and I found this." Kagome extended her hand, revealing a very small book-shaped locket.

"Tori's locket!" exclaimed Sota, "but she never takes that off!"

"I know."

Kira came dashing into the room, squealing as she clutched her Teen People magazine in one hand.

"Oh my GOD, Kagome, you are gonna DIE when you see this pic of Chad Michael Murray!" She froze at the pale looks on Kagome and Sota's faces. "Ok, what's wrong?"

Kagome explained.

"Oh no...you don't think Tori could've been...kidnapped, do you?"

Kagome gulped.

"I dunno, but we DO need to tell my mom about this!"

:Later:

Mrs. Higurashi had called the police to report Tori's disappearance, and when they had come and gone, started calling the neighbors.

She went through every house nearby she could think of, when one person she spoke to piqued her interest.

She hung up, turning to Kagome, Kira and Sota.

"You won't believe this. Mrs. Jurei from down the street says she was walking her little Pomeranian past our house when she saw a black, cloaked figure suddenly jump from our God Tree onto the roof, and she heard some strange, muffled words, before the figure jumped off behind the house."

The three kids paled.

"So she WAS kidnapped."

"But by who??" asked Sota. He was really upset that his favorite video game PIC had gone missing.

"I wish I knew," snarled Kira, "if I ever get my hands on that jerk..."

"Now, now, we can talk about this in the morning. I'm just as upset as you three, but now's not the time to be making rash decisions! It's midnight, and you kids need sleep, summer vacation or not!"

With that said, she ushered them upstairs. Sota whimpered to Kagome that he didn't want to sleep by himself that night.

"What if the kidnapper comes back??" he cried. Kira agreed, and Kagome grudgingly let them sleep on the floor in her room, allowing them to run around and lock the door and window, drawing the blinds before going to sleep.

:The next morning:

Kagome and Kira waited outside the Higurashi property for Kurama, Yusuke and Kuwabara to show up. Sota and Mrs. Higurashi had decided to stay inside to wait and see if the police called with any other information. Kagome had called all of their friends and told them to meet them outside the front of her yard.

Kurama, Yusuke and Kuwabara were the first to show.

"Good morning," yawned Yusuke sleepily. He looked at the two girls. "What the hell happened to you? You don't look like you got any better sleep than we did! Stupid ogres..." he muttered.

"Tori's been kidnapped," came Kagome's voice first. Kurama frowned, and Yusuke and Kuwabara snapped out of their morning stupor.

"What??? By who??" asked Kuwabara.

"We don't know. A neighbor says they saw a dark, cloaked figure jump onto our roof and then go back down," said Kira.

"But why would that make you think he did it? Unless Tori was on the roof or something..."

"She was," interrupted Kagome, "and she dropped this, a sure sign that there was a struggle." She showed them the locket. They stared.

"We have no idea who did it, but..."

"I might," said Kurama, "but I'm afraid I'll have to wait to tell you."

"Why?"

Kurama pointed. Yugi, Kevin, Joey, Tristan, Duke, Mai, Serenity and Tea were coming down the street.

"Hey guys!" said Kira.

"Hey Kira, what's all this crap I hear about Tori getting kidnapped?" asked Tristan.

"It's anything but crap, Tristan, it's true," said Kagome.

"Hey, where's Bakura?" asked Kira.

"Dunno, he didn't answer the phone this morning," said Kagome.

"And who are these guys?" asked Duke, pointing at the other three.

After a few brief introductions, Kagome explained the whole scenario.

"Ok, so someone's a rooftop kidnapper. Where are we gonna find any traces of who did it?" asked Joey.

"I think I just confirmed my suspicion," said Kurama. Kagome turned, and he was examining the locket, now open.

"Hey! Tori doesn't want us to look in there!" she said.

"Kagome, this is an important situation, do you really think it matters what Tori would want us to do?" asked Kira.

"Oh...heh, heh...right."

She and Kira came over to see what Kurama was looking at, and gasped. A tiny picture of a seven-year-old Hiei pouncing on top of a giggling six-year-old Tori sat inside the locket's pages.

"How does this confirm your suspicion?" asked Kira, "The guy didn't have to look inside, he could've just accidentally dropped it when grabbing Tori."

"I'm afraid not," said Kurama, "In order to do that, he wouldn't have taken the time to undo the clasp, see?"

Indeed, the chain wasn't broken. The clasp and fastener lay undone. "I think he wanted us to find this. He wanted us to know he'd taken her. But that also leaves another fact unresolved. I know Tori well enough to say she's not the weak, gentle type that can easily be taken advantage of."

"You got that right," said Kira, wincing as she remembered the pounding Tori had given her the morning before.

"So why would the kidnapper take the time to undo the necklace if Tori was thrashing about so violently? Unless of course he put her to sleep. How long had it been before you checked on her, Kagome?"

"Uhh, about five minutes, I think..."

"Exactly. That's not nearly enough time to properly drug her or induce sleeping gas. Another force was at work here."

"Ok, you guys are making my brain hurt," said Joey.

"Join the club," said Yusuke.

"Amen," muttered Kuwabara.

"What kind of other force?" asked Kevin, "What would you say we're up against?"

"Only a very powerful mental force could have lulled her to sleep in such a short time," said Kurama, turning to him.

"And...are we supposed to know anyone who has that kind of power?" asked Tristan.

"Yeah, for all we know, it could have been a crazy psychic who did it," said Tea.

"Or him," said Kurama, pointing to the boy in the picture. Everyone's eyes widened.

:Meanwhile:

Tori groaned, her head pounding beyond belief. What the hell had happened? She felt like she'd been sleeping for hours. She sat up, rubbing her temples to try to ease the headache, when she realized something odd. She was sitting on something cold, hard, and metal, from the smell.

She jumped, staring around her. Once her ligress eyes had adjusted to the darkness, she could see bars. Bars??? She scurried over to the side, rattling them angrily. Why the hell was she in a giant metal cage??

She crawled back to her spot, suddenly feeling something warm where she was. She snatched it up, and felt it to be a cloak of some kind. This was what had been spread over her while she was sleeping, she deduced. But why try to make her comfortable if she was in a friggin cage? She was already getting claustrophobic. The ceiling of the cage was only four feet high, while the rest of it was about eight feet in diameter.

She felt her heart beginning to pound as her animal instincts sprang up. She growled as she searched for any sign of weakness in the cage walls, and felt all the more constricted when she didn't see any. The door to the cage had a huge padlock on it, the kind requiring a key. Tori calmed herself for a few seconds as she tried to think of ways to open the gate.

She crawled over to it, grasping the cloak about her. It had a pleasant scent to it, the kind that reminded her of the wild...and someone long forgotten. Plus, it was freezing in here!

She came to the lock, examining it. Yeah, a key was required. There was no breaking it off, the lock itself was solid steel, and it was half-rusted from age. She turned to the hinges first before attempting anything with the lock. If she could pry those off...

She drew out her ligress's claws, picking at the hinges with them, trying to pull out the pegs so she could bust down the door. She happily felt the first one come out, and set to work on the second. The hinges were like the lock, old and rusted, but she eventually was able to get all of them out. Now for the fun part. She turned onto her back, propping her feet against the door. She lifted them up, giving them a good slam against the metal. The door fell away, and Tori noticed the lack of clanging. It was a carpeted floor.

Oh well, it had helped. She clambered out the door, deciding to leave the cloak behind. She'd get warm while she was running.

And indeed, she took off, shooting across the room, her heartbeat echoing in her ears. She had only been praying no one had heard the thud of the door falling. She continued racing across the room, heading for the door that she was hoping to be the exit, when...

SLAM!!

She felt a force from behind her tackle her to the ground, and a sinister voice murmured in her ear,

"I knew we shouldn't have locked you in that old cage."

Tori didn't care what it said. She thrashed about violently, struggling to get the great weight off of her so she could run. Chances were, now that she'd been caught, it wouldn't be so easy to escape next time.

She snarled viciously as she tried to bite the hands that pinned her down. The accent surely had been familiar, though. She thrashed so she managed to get a look at her captor's face, and nearly dropped dead, her body slacking.

"B-Bakura???" she said unbelievably. He loosened his grip, and Tori sat straight up to look him in the eye. "Bakura, why are you here?? Did you come to help me?" she asked hopefully. To her ultimate shock, an evil smirk appeared on his face, contorting his features into someone Tori realized she didn't know.

She backed away. "Y-you can't be Bakura! But you look just like him! WHO ARE YOU??"

"I am your friend, Bakura," came the evil voice again, chuckling, "but I guess you can also say I'm his...counterpart."

Tori felt her lungs constrict with a sickening fear. He was in Bakura's body, but now she saw the differences. The brown eyes flashed with maliciousness, and his hair seemed to stand up on end. She then noticed something gold around his neck.

"What's that?" She pointed to it. He clutched it. It was a strange ring with a triangle in the center bearing the same symbol as Yugi's puzzle. Five points hung from the outer edges of it.

"None of your concern," he said, "We need to get you to a better holding place. He will come to see you shortly enough, so he tells me."

"Who's 'He'?" asked Tori. He snickered, giving her chills.

"You'll see."

:Back with the others:

"What?? But why would Hiei kidnap her??" asked Kagome fearfully. Kurama sighed.

"You remember how close they were when they were little?" he asked, "How hard it was to separate them, even when they were fighting?"

"Yeah."

"I'm thinking he either kidnapped her because he has feelings for her, or he kidnapped her for bait so he can kill us, maybe both," said Kurama.

"Ok, if the bait part was true, why not leave some clue as to where to find him?" asked Kevin.

"Hiei must have assumed that we were smart enough to figure it out on our own. Quite a compliment from him, really," answered Kurama.

"But we don't know where he is," said Serenity.

"We'll split up and search the city, then," said Kagome.

So it was decided. They split up into groups of two, deciding that would cover more ground, and set off.

Tori the Hanyou: Yay! Chapter 3 done! Wow, this was long, about 12 pages! Get ready, because the next chapter's already in the works!

CHAPTER TITLE PREVIEW: The Foe Revealed


	4. The Foe Revealed

Tori the Hanyou: Okies, Chapter 4, I know y'all are just so psyched to read it, so I'll skip the chitchat and get on with it!

::In honor of Hiei's returning to the group in the show, and my friend Kira the Hanyou::

-----------------------------

Time's Destruction

Chapter 4: The Foe Revealed

:With Tori:

Now Tori found herself locked in a different cage. This one was new, and had no accessible hinges to pick, and a different lock that required a code instead of a key. Tori sat grumbling over Bakura's betrayal. Why the hell would he DO this to her?? She'd never done anything to him! She scoffed at the cloak next to her, not daring to touch it.

She once more checked out the cage, but like before, there wasn't any way of escaping. It was even smaller than the other one, with a four-foot high ceiling, but only a six-foot diameter.

She snarled as she looked through the bars at the quiet room. She'd now deduced she was in an old, abandoned casino. She saw some gambling machines in her flight from Bakura, and she figured these cages had been where they'd kept the entertainment animals, disgusting. Thank God SHE was in here instead of them.

She decided to listen around and see if she could hear anything interesting. Hmm, nope, not even a floorboard squeak.

It was like someone had put a blanket over the cage, for Tori soon realized she really COULDN'T hear anything!

It was getting creepier by the minute. The silence pounded into her ears. She looked around nervously, tapping her fingers on the floor of the cage to make sure she still had her hearing. Yup, it was still there.

But that's when her heart nearly leapt out of her chest. Out of the darkness, a pair of red eyes suddenly loomed, leering at her.

She was too horrified to scream, and too horrified to move. A sound came that suggested the lock being undone, but now Tori could care less. She'd huddled into the farthest corner of the cage, away from the door, clutching the cloak over her to try to hide.

That didn't seem to help, for she suddenly felt something thick wrap around her, dragging her out of her corner and towards the source. She felt like a mouse cornered in the snake's cage. She was gonna be constricted to death!

She trembled, trying to resist as best as she could, grabbing the bars near the door, but rough hands suddenly gripped them, gently prying the fingers off.

She felt herself being picked up, still bundled in the cloak, and whoever held her walked somewhere, holding her effortlessly in their arms.

She gulped as, after a while, she was dropped onto something soft, quite a change from that metal floor. When she figured the carrier had left, she wrenched off the cloak, only to come face-to-face with that glowing pair of rubies again!

She jumped, startled, and leapt backwards, suddenly feeling that she was gonna fall, but two arms grabbed her and pulled her back up roughly. Tori panted from the rush of adrenaline, and almost didn't hear the deep voice speak softly into her ear.

"Well, well, well, nice to see you too, Tori."

She jumped, her heart racing.

"Who-who's there???" she said, trying to keep her trembling voice under control. She felt whatever was underneath her move, and she soon realized she was on a bed...a big one.

She looked around wildly, struggling to get her eyes to adjust faster.

"No need to be alarmed. You're safe with me," said the voice again, and Tori froze.

Summoning her courage, she ironed out most of the tremors.

"How d-do I know I can trust you?" she said, backing away from the source of the voice. She suddenly realized she'd backed up against something warm, and she felt arms wrap around her.

Thrashing, she squirmed out of the grip and away from it.

"Don't worry, Tori," it purred, "you know me well enough. You can promise yourself I won't hurt you."

Tori gulped.

"Listen, Bakura, if this is some kind of joke..."

"Bakura's in the other room," said the voice again, "If you really don't like being around me, maybe I should leave." It put on a mock hurt tone.

"Yeah, maybe you should!" said Tori, getting more confident.

She felt the bed shift again as the person stood up, but Tori heard no footsteps.

She jumped when she felt something light drop into her lap. Darting her eyes down, they finally adjusted enough to where she could see it.

She gasped, picking it up.

"No...it can't be you..." she whispered, tracing a finger along the blade of the plastic sword.

She felt the arms encircle her again, but she did nothing to break away.

"You got it, Tori..." it whispered.

:Meanwhile:

"Mai! :pant: Can we...take...a breather?" asked Joey, trudging along behind the other blonde as she walked down Main Street, peering into every alley.

"NO! Not until we find some clue as to who took Tori!" said Mai.

"But that guy...uhh, Kurama...says he already knows who took her!" complained Joey.

"That doesn't mean he's right!" snapped Mai, "Quit being a baby!"

Joey gasped for air.

"Serenity would've NEVER pushed me this much..."

:With Kagome and Kurama:

"Sooo, can you remind me exactly what we're looking for?" asked Kagome as she followed her childhood friend through the streets. He was peering at some weird compass.

"With this compass, I should be able to locate all of the places Hiei has been in the city," said the kitsune, "including where he is now. But Botan hasn't charged it recently, and I'm afraid this battery's dying. It might actually start leading us to the wrong places."

"Then why use it?" asked Kagome.

"There might be a chance that we find some clues to his current spot at some of the locations he's been."

"Oh." There was silence. "Kurama?"

"Yes?"

"You guys aren't...REALLY gonna take Hiei to jail, are you?"

At these words, Kurama stopped, turning to her.

"We have no choice, Kagome," he said, his voice hushed, "it's the wishes of Koenma, and it's for the protection of many human lives, so I guess that overrules our..."

"No, it doesn't," interrupted Kagome.

Kurama raised an eyebrow at her.

"What?"

"Nothing overrules friendship, Kurama! You should at least TRY to get this Koenma dude to reconsider!"

"Kagome, it's not like we haven't tried..."

"Then try harder!!" cried Kagome, and she felt a tear on the corner of her eye, "I don't want to see one of my friends go to prison, no matter WHAT he's done!!"

Kurama sighed.

"Kagome, I know how you feel, but there's nothing..."

"But..."

"Shush!" he ordered sharply, putting a finger on her lips to silence her. Kagome's eyes widened. She'd never seen him act like that. When he removed it, quite flustered at his own behavior, she took a step back from him. "I'm...sorry, Kagome, I don't know what came over me..."

"It's ok, I needed that," said Kagome, looking away, "I was getting carried away again."

"I was saying that there truly isn't anything we can do to change his mind. I'm sorry, but we've done everything to try to save him. Hiei's been the only one truly hindering our efforts by committing more crimes, each more brutal than the last. He's murdered innocent humans, and in Spirit World, that's a huge felony."

Kagome hiccupped to try to hold back her tears. She was just as upset about this as Tori; mainly because Tori had been the one to be kidnapped by him.

"But why?" she whispered, "why him?"

Kurama cast his eyes to the ground.

"Come along, we don't have time to hang around."

He turned and continued his course, Kagome following silently behind him.

-------------------------------------------


End file.
